Abstract To investigate the biodiversity and relative abundance of birds and mammals in the Chebaling Nature Reserve, we established 101 camera traps between September 2014 and November 2016. Over 11,399 camera-trap days, we obtained 2,542 photographs of wildlife. Analyzing these pictures, we identified 13 mammal species and 30 bird species, including six Class-II state key protected wild animals: the spotted linsang (Prionodon pardicolor), the Chinese serow (Capricornis milneedwardsii), the silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera), the fairy pitta (Pitta nympha), the greater coucal (Centropus sinensis), and the besra (Accipiter virgatus). Additionally, we recorded several species that were previously not observed in the nature reserve: the red-hipped squirrel (Dremomys pyrrhomerus), the Edwards's long-tailed giant rat (Leopoldamys edwardsi), the fairy pitta, the orange-headed thrush (Zoothera citrina), and the white-crowned forktail (Enicurus leschenaultia). Based on a relative abundance index, red-hipped squirrels, Indian muntjacs (Muntiacus vaginalis), and wild boars (Sus scrofa) were the most abundant mammals, and silver pheasants and greater necklaced laughing thrushes (Garrulax pectoralis) represented the most abundant birds in Chebaling. Furthermore, the diversity of birds and mammals was not equally distributed along the elevation gradient, and the highest species richness was detected at elevations between 450m and 600 m. Compared with data from camera traps recorded in three other nature reserves across the Nanling Mountains, we recorded the highest number of bird species in the Chebaling Nature Reserve, but more mammal species were recorded in another area, the Nanling Nature Reserve. Our observations are important to update the bird and mammal species list and to provide the basis for future long-term wildlife monitoring in the nature reserves along Nanling Mountains.